Criminal Justice Degree Programs in New York City
Updated September 29, 2026
New York City’s criminal justice job market runs on more than the NYPD, spanning federal agencies, five district attorneys’ offices, and the state court system. Roughly 19 schools across the five boroughs offer programs in the criminal justice, legal support, homeland security, or security science fields, and police pay in the metro area runs well above the national median.
New York City runs the largest municipal police department in the country, but NYPD hiring is only one door into the job market here—the federal courthouses in Lower Manhattan, five borough district attorneys’ offices, the state court system, and agencies from ATF to Homeland Security Investigations all draw from the same pool of local graduates.
Most of the schools on this page sit inside the CUNY system or a short subway ride from it, so plan your commute the way you’d plan a class schedule. A MetroCard covers the ride at a discount over paying per swipe, and that matters more here than in most states. You can study in the Bronx and intern in lower Manhattan on the same day.
Which Degree Level Fits Your Goals in NYC?
New York City offers a criminal justice education through The City University of New York (CUNY), a public system of 11 senior colleges and 7 community colleges spread across all five boroughs, plus a handful of private universities.
Three degree tiers show up across nearly every school:
- Associate degree (AA): General math, English, and science courses alongside intro-level ethics, criminal law, and policing and corrections procedures.
- Bachelor’s degree (BA, BS): The same core, plus more math, science, history, and English, taken further into a specific track.
- Master’s degree: Specialized coursework in one area, with the format and final project varying by program and school.
Education requirements vary a lot by agency and occupation. Check the specific job posting or agency page before assuming any one degree level is required or preferred.
New York City Tuition Rates
| Campus Type | NY Resident, Full-Time | NY Resident, Part-Time (per credit) | Non-Resident (per credit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CUNY Community College (Associate) | $2,400 per semester | $210 | $320 |
| CUNY Senior College, Undergraduate | $3,465 per semester | $305 | $620 |
| CUNY Senior College, Graduate | $5,545 per semester | $470 | $855 |
Rates come from individual CUNY college bursar pages (2025-26 and 2026-27 published figures). See CUNY’s tuition and college costs page for current figures. CUNY’s Board of Trustees can change tuition without notice, and private schools on this page set their own rates, so confirm the current number with your target campus before enrolling.
Where Can You Study Criminal Justice in New York City?
About 19 institutions across the five boroughs offer a program in the criminal justice, legal support, homeland security, or security science family, per federal education data. That’s a program-family count, not a count of criminal justice degrees specifically, since some of these schools offer only one of the four fields. CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in Manhattan, is the most specialized of them, running bachelor’s, master’s, and certificate programs. It doesn’t grant its own associate degree, but the CUNY Justice Academy guarantees admission to John Jay’s bachelor’s programs for students who finish an associate degree in a matching major at several partner CUNY community colleges.
| Institution | Borough | Credential Levels Offered |
|---|---|---|
| CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice | Manhattan | Bachelor’s, Master’s, Certificate |
| CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College | Manhattan | Associate |
| CUNY Graduate School and University Center | Manhattan | Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral |
| Pace University | Manhattan | Bachelor’s, Master’s |
| Touro University | Manhattan | Associate, Certificate |
| Berkeley College-New York | Manhattan | Associate, Bachelor’s |
| CUNY Bronx Community College | Bronx | Associate, Certificate |
| CUNY Hostos Community College | Bronx | Associate |
| Monroe University (formerly Monroe College) | Bronx | Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s |
| CUNY Kingsborough Community College | Brooklyn | Associate |
| CUNY Medgar Evers College | Brooklyn | Associate |
| CUNY New York City College of Technology | Brooklyn | Associate, Bachelor’s |
| St. Francis College | Brooklyn | Associate, Bachelor’s |
| St. Joseph’s University-New York | Brooklyn | Bachelor’s, Master’s, Certificate |
| CUNY Queensborough Community College | Queens | Associate |
| Long Island Business Institute | Queens | Associate, Certificate |
| Plaza College | Queens | Associate, Certificate |
| CUNY LaGuardia Community College | Queens | Associate, Certificate |
| St. John’s University-New York | Queens | Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral |
School and program data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, institution file May 2025 and field-of-study file April 2025. Data accessed September 2026. No institution in this data reports a physical location in Staten Island. This list reflects what schools reported to the federal government, not today’s course catalog. Program inventories change, so confirm current enrollment, format, and admission requirements directly with any school before applying.
What Do Criminal Justice Careers Pay in New York City?
As of the May 2025 BLS wage data, Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area earn a median of $105,540 a year, well above the national figure. Detectives and Criminal Investigators in the same metro area earn a median of $106,440. These are occupational medians across the whole metro area, not NYPD starting pay or a degree-based figure. New York State projects patrol-officer employment to grow 5.6% and detective employment to grow 3.3% between 2024 and 2034.
Training to become a municipal police officer in New York runs through a state framework, not a national one. The Municipal Police Training Council (MPTC) sets the minimum standards for the Basic Course for Police Officers (BCPO), and the state Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), Office of Public Safety, administers that framework and certifies instructors and schools. Municipal recruits complete the Basic Course within one year of appointment.
NYPD hiring itself runs through its own civil service exam and application process, separate from the MPTC’s training standards. NYPD’s minimum education requirement has changed recently, with a department announcement in February 2025 describing a reduction from 60 to 24 college credits for entry to its Police Academy. Check the current NYPD Notice of Examination before assuming either number, since requirements have shifted more than once in the past two years.
May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers and Detectives and Criminal Investigators. Long-term (2024-34) job growth projections from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, ProjectionsCentral. Figures reflect New York City metro-area wages and New York State job growth projections, not school-specific information. Data accessed September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do police officers earn in New York City?
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area earn a median of $105,540 a year, according to May 2025 BLS wage data. That figure covers the whole metro area and every experience level, not a specific department’s starting salary.
Do I need a college degree to become an NYPD officer?
Not necessarily. NYPD’s education requirement has changed recently: a February 2025 department announcement described lowering the minimum from 60 to 24 college credits for entry to the Police Academy, alongside other paths like military service. Since this has shifted more than once in the past two years, check the current NYPD Notice of Examination for the exact requirement before you apply.
Which schools in New York City offer criminal justice programs?
About 19 institutions across the five boroughs offer a program in the criminal justice, legal support, homeland security, or security science family, per federal education data. CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice is the most specialized school on the list, and several CUNY community colleges feed into it through the CUNY Justice Academy transfer program. Confirm current program details directly with any school you’re considering.
Is a criminal justice degree required for federal law enforcement jobs in NYC?
It depends on the agency. Some require a bachelor’s degree outright; others accept equivalent work experience instead. Check the specific agency’s hiring page before ruling a role out over a missing degree.
Key Takeaways
- NYPD is the anchor, not the whole market: Federal agencies, district attorneys’ offices, and the state court system all hire from the same local pool.
- Pay runs above the national median: Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers earn $105,540, and Detectives earn $106,440 in the NYC metro area, per May 2025 BLS data.
- About 19 schools serve the five boroughs: Across criminal justice, legal support, homeland security, and security science programs, led by CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
- Police training runs through a state framework: New York’s Municipal Police Training Council sets the standards for the Basic Course for Police Officers, administered by DCJS, separate from any individual department’s own hiring process.
Worried about paying for school before you’ve even applied? Start with CUNY’s own financial aid resources. They cover grants and scholarships built for students in the CUNY system, including criminal justice majors.
Explore CUNY Scholarships and Financial Aid
Looking for a Criminal Justice Program in Another State?
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Puerto Rico
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Looking beyond this city? Read the full guide to Criminal Justice Schools in New York.